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USG Ishimura
The USG ''Ishimura'' (石村) , named after astrophysicist and inventor of the ShockPoint Drive Hideki Ishimura, was the flagship of the Concordance Extraction Corporation and the first Planet Cracker-class ship. The Ishimura was also the first vessel of its size to utilize the ShockPoint Drive for large-scale commercial and deep space expeditions. History Design Built in 2446, the Ishimura was hailed as the savior of Earth and the colonies, and a symbol of Mankind's innovation. It was created for mining and smelting entire planets and moons. It was also the first ship capable of the "scan and catch technique" for harvesting mineral-rich asteroids using huge gravity tethers. The Ishimura had the ability to lock onto asteroids and pull them into its massive collection bays for smelting. Despite being designed primarily as a mining vessel, the Ishimura also functioned as a medical research vessel. It had a dedicated medical wing, where research into virology, toxins and genetics was conducted. Discovery of the Red Marker At the time the Red Marker was discovered on Aegis VII, the Ishimura was 62 years old. It was still in remarkable shape, with much of its equipment upgraded and many sections refitted to take advantage of continuing advances in technology. Despite its long years of service, the Ishimura was still the pride of the C.E.C. fleet, along with its venerable prestige as the largest Planet Cracker-class ship. When the CEC learned of Aegis VII Colony's discovery, the Ishimura was dispatched to recover the Marker and transport it back to Earth. Upon arriving at Aegis VII, the Ishimura's commanding officer and devout Unitologist Captain Matthius gave a no-fly order with the exception that the Marker, all related data and corpses be moved to the Ishimura. Once this was accomplished, the crew of the Ishimura began planet crack operations, with the cover put in place to hide their true agenda. Coinciding with the planet crack, the Ishimura briefly lost all contact with the colony. Once contact was re-established, the crew discovered that the entire colony had been slaughtered. Further contact with one of the mining teams revealed nothing of the colony's fate, as they were soon killed themselves. Several survivors attempted to reach the Ishimura using the colony's remaining shuttles. After navigating through the debris field created by the planet crack, the shuttles were fired upon by the Ishimura's ADS cannons for violating the no-fly order. Two shuttles successfully reached the Ishimura; the first, flown by Colin Barrow, crash landed into the hangar bay. The second, flown by Gabe Weller, crash landed on the hull near the Crew Deck. Infestation Unknown to Barrow, an Infector had boarded his shuttle and infected his wife's corpse. After Barrow was killed and his shuttle crashed, Jennifer Barrow and the Infector escaped into the Ishimura's ventilation system before security could arrive. The Infector made its way to the morgue, where it changed at least twenty corpses into creatures which then made their way into the ship. The crew were attacked by the creatures while on their daily routines. There were only a few reported incidents at first, but word of the danger quickly spread throughout the Ishimura within a short time. Some men and women had jobs that they were forced to continue, despite the obvious danger, in order to keep the ship stabilized, but these stalwart crew members did not last long, and the ship slowly began to malfunction a an effect of nobody monitoring it. It finally became obvious that the entire crew was in danger, as order around the ship vanished. Decks that the creatures did not reach yet barricaded themselves off and made stopgaps to hold back the creatures when they attacked. Unfortunately, most of the decks were caught unprepared, simply presenting easy kills for the Necromorphs and leaving said decks utterly devoid of life. The Bridge, as well as the Medical and Mining decks, reportedly held out the longest; the Medical deck was completely overwhelmed with badly injured survivors, to the point where the medical staff barricaded the injured outside. The injured personnel were killed by the Necromorphs, and the creatures eventually breached the barricades and slaughtered any remaining medical staff. The mining deck, where wandering survivors rallied, lasted longer as a result of its endurance, but was eventually overrun by Necromorphs emerginf from the ship's vent system. The Bridge was the last deck to be overrun; the remaining bridge crew, security, and officers made a last stand with their weapons, but, like the Mining Deck, the Bridge survivors were undone by the vent system, which provided easy access for the Necromorph hordes. To make matters worse, an unknown force jettisoned the ship's complement of escape shuttles, leaving the remaining crew trapped onboard the Ishimura with no way out. As a last desperate resort, Dr. Kyne disengaged the ship's engines, causing the ship to begin a slow descent towards the planet, in the vain hopes that it would burn up in the atmosphere and kill everything inside. Chief Security Officer Alissa Vincent intercepted him and tried to stabilize the engines in a bid to rescue the remaining survivors, but failed and instead sacrificed herself to launch a distress signal into space. ''Kellion's'' arrival It was at this point that the USG Kellion Shockpointed in, in response to the Ishimura's distress signal, beginning the events of Dead Space. Many of the areas of the ship were covered in Necromorph biomass or otherwise damaged; resulting in failures in the ship's life support, automated systems, and artificial gravity. Nearly all of the exterior lights were also inactive due to loss of main power. The ship's self-destruct was offline, as well as most other ship systems. The only viable way to scuttle the ship was to disengage the engines and allow the planet crack load to pull the Ishimura ''into the planet. Throughout the events of the game, trying to survive was the main goal, but to survive Isaac had to repair parts of the ship in some levels, demonstrating that while the vessel was in a deplorable condition, it may yet be saved. The ''Ishimura was last seen in Dead Space when Isaac departed towards Aegis VII with the Marker in the Executive Shuttle; it was not seen following the colony's eventual destruction. Post-Aegis VII Incident After the destruction of Aegis VII, the Ishimura was thrown out of orbit into deep space, apparently never to be seen again.[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Space-Retribution-Christopher-Shy/dp/1600108156 Dead Space: Retribution, plot summary] The Earth Government falsified the details of the Ishimura's destruction, claiming that the ship was lost to a terrorist attack. The Ishimura was commemorated by the government and the CEC, keeping the public oblivious to the ship's real fate to avoid widespread panic and chaos. [http://deadspace.ea.com/en_us/home#flash/mediaid=beat1posterswf-20100426063325986 DeadSpace 2, Remember the Ishimura] Recovery by the Magpies After Isaac's departure from the Ishimura, it drifted aimlessly within the Aegis system. When a group known as the Magpies, led by Jessica Li and Stefan Schneider, were using a shockring to transport minerals, the Ishimura was caught by its event horizon. It was transported to the Magpie's position, destroying their Nest. They stabilized the vessel with gravity tethers and boarded the Ishimura to salvage it, finding the ship in bad shape. It had been bombarded by asteroids, destroying entire decks; oxygen was leaking out and severely depleted, the ship's ShockPoint Drive was severely damaged, and most of the power and artificial gravity was gone due to the damage sustained by the engineering deck. Only emergency power and a few auxiliaries were still functional. Quarantine lock downs were in effect all over the ship and the Corruption had covered almost everything. It was apparently deserted, so the Magpies embarked on an expedition through the ship, with the intention to recover any valuable equipment. However, following the discovery of several shards of the Red Marker on the outside hull, order collapsed. One of the crew, Malyech, assaulted his fellow salvager Li over the fate of the shards, and had to be confined. Another crewman, Venschiff, was apparently driven mad by the Marker and attacked fellow salvager Schneider, only to be killed in the ensuing struggle. Copland, Malyech's assistant, left the Ishimura with a shard, planning to betray them to the Earth Government in exchange for a deal. The worst, however, was yet to come. As the Earth Defense Force and the Oracles, a group of unknown alignment, closed in on the Magpies' positions, the Necromorphs reawakened all over the ship and attacked the Magpies, a conflict that left Schneider as the sole survivor. The EDF squad was tricked by him to land in the cargo bay, where they were all slaughtered by Necromophs. Schneider attempted to escape, but the Oracles pursued him, forcing them to a confrontation outside the ship. They were interrupted by a new Hive Mind, but it was dispatched by the Oracles. Schneider escaped the fight through a hatch while the Oracles were killed by the Necromorphs. Schneider recovered their weapons and made his way to the Oracles' stealth shuttle, notifying the Earth Government of the Ishimura's location before shocking out to an unknown destination and leaving the Ishimura behind. EarthGov ships supposedly shocked in not long after and recovered the Ishimura, bringing it to the Sprawl. The Sprawl thumb|300px|right|The Ishimura ResurfacesSometime between the three years Isaac Clarke had been interred on Titan Station, otherwise known as the Sprawl, the USG Ishimura was docked there, and EarthGov engaged in a thorough clean-up operation within the ship, ostensibly to wipe out all evidence of the Necromorph infestation. Late in Dead Space 2, Isaac reentered the Ishimura, planning to use its powerful gravity tethers to reconnect a damaged space track. Isaac learned that his mission was to journey to the engineering deck to fix the gravity centrifuge. Once that was done, Isaac headed to the bridge using a tram car, but due to an obstruction in the tunnel he was forced to go through the medical deck. After fighting off numerous Necromorphs and moving through a tram tunnel without gravity, he finally got to the bridge. He activated the gravity tethers in order to pull the space track together. The ship was still undergoing clean up at the time of the Sprawl Necromorph outbreak, and was in a battered yet somewhat recovered state. Protective materials were deployed all over and UV lighting illuminated blood smeared in numerous hallways. Lighting and other systems were also damaged. EarthGov also reinstalled several escape pods in the Bridge section, which Isaac used to exfiltrate the ship and return to the Sprawl. Eventual Fate The Ishimura's ultimate state following the implosion of Titan Station was ultimately unknown, but it would not be unreasonable to assume its destruction along with the station. However, no overriding evidence was presented. Ship Sections Bridge The Bridge was the control room from where the Ishimura was navigated and monitored. It consisted of several sections: the Atrium, the main part of the bridge of the Ishimura; the Captain's Nest, which was Captain Matthius' personal observation area; Administration, where the ship's section leaders worked; and Communications/External Access, where the Comm Array was located. The various sections were serviced by elevators accessed from the Atrium. Escape pods were located outside the Captain's Nest. The Captain's Nest itself was a restricted area, and only officers holding the rank of Class 5 were allowed to enter. The controls were all holographic, and various stations with holographic displays were present throughout the Bridge. When Isaac entered the main atrium, all displays read "System Failure", a reflection of the ship's overall state. Crew Deck The residential area of the ship, and a large deck housing numerous sleeper bunks, a mess hall, a Zero-G basketball court and several small lounges containing chairs and sofas placed around a large holographic display, possibly for means of entertainment. The Executive Lounge and Executive Quarters were located here, as was the Executive Shuttle. Isaac arrived at this deck in order to power up the Executive Shuttle using a Singularity Core. He encountered numerous difficulties, such as misplaced Navigation cards and a lockdown of Block B. Engineering Deck The section of the Ishimura wherein various engineers worked at maintaining the ship. This area was responsible for ensuring the correct function of the ship's ShockPoint Drive, gravity centrifuge, and the navigation rockets, as well as a continual lifting capacity of 525 trillion kilograms. The area was noted for being very dangerous, as only Class 5 Engineers were allowed entry. Unlike other ship areas such as the Bridge and Medical Deck, Engineering was very dark and industrial, with exposed and dangerous machinery on display. It was divided into three primary areas: *'Gravity Centrifuge Access:' A large chamber that held the Gravity Centrifuge, which kept the Ishimura ''stable. *'Fuel Storage:' A large compartment for the titular purpose, Fuel Storage was separated into two sections by a mini-tram. This area fed fuel into the engines, and was dominated by a large rotating ring of fuel cells and the main fuel line, and was by far the darkest area of the deck. *'Engine Room:' A large facility that proudly displayed the ''Ishimura's immense engines, several hundred feet in diameter. Flight Deck Location of the main hangars where shuttles would enter and leave the Ishimura. Contains a fully equipped departure/arrival lounge and has access to the cargo bay, allowing materials to be loaded into shuttles for transport. The Executive Shuttle Docking Bay connects to this, as well as the Cargo Bay. The Ishimura has multiple docking bays situated all over the ship for shuttles of various sizes, ranging from the massive main hangar bay where the Kellion crashes to smaller mining shuttle bays such as Docking Bay 17, where the Necromorph infection came on board the Ishimura. Hydroponics Deck The Ishimura's internal farm which produces the food needed to feed the many workers aboard the ship as well as providing a sustainable production of oxygen. It is typically maintained by horticulturists such as Elizabeth Cross, who monitored the production levels of the food. This Deck came under trouble when the Leviathan grew into food storage and began polluting the air. A massive area, it spans the entire top portion of the Ishimura's two cargo towers and is divided into 2 primary sections: the multi-level Vegetation Growth Chambers and the centrally located cylindrical Food Storage chamber. Directly before food storage is the air quality control and ventilation system, the Station features a large Hologram screen and controls that indicate air production, ventilation, and filtration systems. Maintenance Deck This Deck is where maintenance is performed on shuttles and maintenance shuttles are docked. These hangers can be manually opened in the event of their Control Rooms sustaining damage. The only notable location on this Deck is Shuttle Bay 47 which contained Maintenance Shuttle 23.Dead Space: Extraction: Chapter 8: In The Hearts Of Men Medical Deck The Medical Deck of the Ishimura contains various facilities including: Zero-G Therapy, an Intensive Care Unit, Imaging and Diagnostics, Biolab, Cryo-Lab, Chemical Lab, Morgue and also various research areas and offices of the scientists aboard the ship. The deck is serviced by two trams: one at the main entrance, and one at the Cryo Storage entrance. The Medical Deck is divided into three areas: Emergency Ward, Imaging and Diagnostics and the Research Wing. Dr. Kyne's office is located in the Research Wing's ground floor, while Dr. Mercer's is located in the Emergency Ward. Before the infestation, the medical deck was one of the brightest areas on the ship with virtually all lighting in the medical areas being a vivid white. In Dead Space 2 Isaac will once again have to traverse through here once the tram encounters an obstruction. Mining Deck The heart of the Ishimura, this is where asteroids and planet fragments are broken apart and melted for valuable minerals. A 4-level deck, it is by far the largest deck on the Ishimura. Asteroids are brought in via an entrance on the third level and held in place by gravity tethers. Ore Storage Deck Directly below Hydroponics, this deck was where valuable ore extracted from operations on the Mining Deck was stored in large containment cylinders. In the game, it is the area the [[USM Valor| USM Valor]] crashes into, thus the entire deck is basically destroyed. The Ore Storage area is instead dominated by the wreck of the Valor. The deck is basically a gigantic room in zero gravity, although it is one of the smallest in the game. Subsections and Systems *'Asteroid Defense System' :A large fixed Array of Mass Drivers used on board many Planet Cracker-class ships. Its primary goal is to track and destroy asteroids automatically, preventing damaging collisions with the ship. However, in the event that a part of the ADS goes offline, a crew member will have to manually control an offline ADS Cannon. *'Computer Core' :The Computer Core is presumably the central processing area for the Ishimura's databanks. It allows remote locking and unlocking of various areas, remote disengaging of the ship's engines and access to the ship's library. Kendra Daniels barricades herself here after she and Hammond are attacked by a Leaper. *'Decontamination Chambers' :These chambers can be found throughout the ship protecting important areas such as the Gravity Centrifuge on the Engineering Deck. Their purpose is to cleanse workers of any bacteria and small debris that could contaminate these areas. *'Emergency Shuttles' :Due to the Ishimura's task as a mining ship and its frequent danger, the ship was equipped with a large compliment of escape shuttles which could be used to evacuate the ship in an emergency. The escape shuttles count apparently numbers at 50, with a capacity of around 27 each in order to accommodate the ship's complement of 1,332. However, when the Necromorph infection reached the Ishimura, the entire complement was mysteriously jettisoned, with no one on board. By the time Isaac Clarke arrived, the only means of escaping the ship was a single damaged escape pod outside the bridge, which was promptly jettisoned by Hammond to remove a Slasher. The Ishimura also carried a small compliment of mining shuttles for transportation, but these were either destroyed or also remotely jettisoned by the time the Kellion arrives. *'Filtration Systems' :These systems transport all of the ship's the waste to the Water Treatment Facility. They are made up of large, interconnected chambers and pipes which run under various decks, such as Medical and Hydroponics. On the ceiling of these pipes are smaller pipes where new waste is dropped in and extraction fans used to remove the fumes making the air breathable. These pipes also contain elevated walkways with doors to allow access without the need to come in contact with the waste.Dead Space: Extraction: Chapter 6: Nowhere To Hide *'Quarantine System' :Important areas on the Ishimura are equipped with sensors that detect contaminants, such as Necromorphs. When one or more of these is detected, the area is locked down until the threat is removed. Both the Aegis VII Colony and the Valor also had a similar system suggesting that this is standard among structures and starships. *'Tram System' :Due to the Ishimura's size, a tram system has been built into the ship, allowing fast and easy access to each of the ship's sections. However, the system is single rail, so a single damaged tram will prevent travel throughout the ship. The floor of the tram's subway can be traversed, however. Trivia *The literal Japanese meaning of Ishimura is Rock Village, a title appropriate for the vessel's purpose. Additionally, the presence of Japanese markings throughout the ship, most notably on the ship logo, suggest either heavy Japanese influence or direct Japanese-based construction. *'USG' stands for United Spacefaring GuildDead Space Facebook Account *Aegis VII would have been the Ishimura's 35th (and possibly final, since it was to be decommissioned a year later) planet crack, had it not been infected by the Necromorphs. The reason for its decommissioning is unknown, though the ship's age may have played a part in the CEC's decision to retire the ship. *However, a major contradiction to this theory is that an audio log in Dead Space 2, found on the Ishimura, states that there was mass "human DNA" all over the walls (most likely the Corruption). The scientists speculates that when the Marker was destroyed (at the end of Dead Space) all of the creatures (Necromorphs) instantly broke down and melted. This suggests that Necromorphs must need some sort of connection to a Marker to be able to survive. This theory is confirmed in Dead Space: Aftermath, when the shard which causes an outbreak on the O'Bannon is destroyed in the engine core, all the Necromorphs are instantly and violently reduced to sludge. This indicates the existence of the Necromorphs is dependent on the survival of the Marker that made them.Re-Animate *Out of the entire crew, Gabe Weller, is the only known survivor; however, he later dies in Severed. *The Filtration Systems are where Chapter 6: Nowhere To Hide of Dead Space: Extraction took place and where the Urchin is encountered. *The Maintenance Deck is where Chapter 8: In The Hearts Of Men, the first part of Chapter 9: Escaping the Ishimura and Chapter 10: Secrets And Salvation of Dead Space: Extraction take place. *The size of the Ishimura is unknown, but it is possible that the ship is around a half-mile to a mile long, considering the size of the ship compared to other planets and asteroids and the need for a tram system. *A Dead Space 2 Achievement "Operation!" can be achieved if the Player "Snares the Shard with the Ishimura" http://www.easyxbox360achievements.com/latest-news/1141-dead-space-2-achievements. (This refers to capturing the detached EarthGov sector where the Marker is being held.) *At the time of Nicole Brennan's employment onboard the Ishimura, the ship was to be decommissioned the following year. *In Dead Space 2, while on the Ishimura in Chapter 10, many save points, stores and power nodes from the first game can be found in the same locations on Engineering, Medical and Bridge decks. While the save stations on board retain their unique appearance from the first game, they now display the Titan Station holograph when activated. The stores, however, are completely retrofitted and match the appearance and inventory of those found on the station itself, a logical development owing to EarthGov's operations on the ship. *The whole ship appears to have been undergoing a retrofitting as well as a clean-up, as most of the ship's systems are interacted with differently than in the first game. *In Dead Space 2 at the end of Chapter 10, after activating the tethers in the Captain's Nest, Isaac uses an escape pod to get back to the Sprawl. Oddly enough, it is in the same position as the pod that Hammond launched in Chapter 4 of the first game, suggesting that EarthGov cleanup crews reinstalled escape pods for emergencies while working on the Ishimura. *Isaac also suffers hallucinations from the first game while on board the Ishimura. For example, after exiting the gravity centrifuge a Drag Tentacle from the first game will grab Isaac and slam him to the ground before disappearing, leaving Isaac still standing. Isaac also experiences a Brute punching a hole through the glass as he approaches the Bridge, but this is also a hallucination of said event from the first game. The windows are, in fact, now sealed. *According to an audio log found in the elevator in the Engineering Deck, the remaining Necromorphs onboard the Ishimura turned into a soupy substance after the Red Marker was destroyed on Aegis VII, in the same way that the Necromorphs were killed following the destruction of the Red Marker shard on the USG O'Bannon. *During the events of Dead Space 2, the Ishimura is already two years overdue for decommissioning. Yet, when Isaac returns, the ship is being cleaned up, seemingly for redeployment. Almost none of the ship's systems have been disabled (including the heavily damaged tram and centrifuge) and, most notably, the escape pods on the bridge have been replaced. *Though it is assumed to be destroyed along with the rest of the Sprawl, it is possible that the ship managed to survive, as there is no absolutely definitive evidence for either outcome. *Before its official debut, one can see the Ishimura in Chapter 9 by looking through the same window that can be decompressed prior to Isaac actually encountering it later on in the chapter. *In Dead Space 2, the earliest the Ishimura can be seen for a long period of time is in Chapter 7, when the player is required to re-align the solar arrays. If the player looks down at the Sprawl, he/she can see that the Ishimura is docked on one of the many rails connecting the station to Titan. Although, in Chapter 5 while encountering The Tormenter when it knocks the player out into space, before he/she has to shoot a gas canister, the player can see the Ishimura for a split second before Isaac grabs onto the underbelly of the gunship. *The Name plate for the Ishimura differs during Dead Space: Downfall and Dead Space 2. In Downfall, it simly appears as normal text, with the CEC logo next to it, however in Dead Space 2, the writing is Luminous and the Logo is not visible. Gallery File:Dead-space-0056.jpg|A closeup of the Ishimura's Bridge. File:Concept_ishimura_in_profile.jpg|The hull of the starship. File:Dead-space-20080729042426407_thumb_ign.jpg|Bottom view of the ship File:Loading_screen_01.jpg|The different parts of the USG Ishimura as shown in a loading screen. File:Join_the_team.jpg|A poster aboard the USG Ishimura. File:Remember the Ishimura.jpg|A memorial poster titled "Remember the Ishimura" aboard the Sprawl. IshimuraInDS2.png|A glimpse of the Ishimura in recent gameplay (USM Valor damage spotted on the left engine) File:ShipComparison.jpg|The USG Ishimura's size compared to the other ships in Dead Space. File:Ishimura Dead in Space.jpg|Ishimura dead in Space. File:Salvage - Poster04.jpg|The Ishimura in the art of Dead Space: Salvage. Sources *''Dead Space'' *''Dead Space 2'' *''Dead Space: Downfall'' *''Dead Space: Salvage'' References Ishimura